March 10 – US President Donald Trump has established a 2026 World Cup task force to oversee preparations for FIFA’s flagship tournament.
Trump will chair the task force with vice president JD Vance serving as a vice chair while a yet unnamed executive director will oversee day-to-day operations. This summer the US will host the Club World Cup, a dress rehearsal for the 48-team finals co-hosted with neighbours Mexico and Canada.
Trump has slapped his neighbours with tariffs before relenting on full implementation, but the American president said it only adds to the drama. “I think it’s going to make it more exciting,” said Trump. “Tension is a good thing. It makes it much more exciting.”
The three nations will meet in the Nations League finals March 10-20, and again in the Gold Cup in the summer, a year before they co-host the 2026 World Cup. They are unlikely to meet at the World Cup unless they meet in the latter stages.
The tension within the USA is, however, palpable. Immigration agents are actively sweeping up hispanic immigrants, often regardless of whether they have documentation or not, but nevertheless putting them into a deportation environment that is both ruthless and humiliating. The fear throughout the Mexican and central American immigrant workers – documented or not – has even resulted in the launch of an app warning people where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are operating.
North of the US border Trump’s talk of making Canada the USA’s 51st state – whether a serious musing or not – has been treated with fury at Trump’s lack of respect and simplified view of nationhood both politically and publicly.
With Trump’s foreign policy increasingly isolating the US politically and increasingly economically – led by his love of tariffs – his tendency towards love-ins with despotic leaders globally has continued into the civil environment with a further renewal of vows with FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino was on hand as Trump signed the executive order to establish the task force in the Oval Office alongside. The FIFA president showed Trump the Club World Cup trophy, developed by Tiffany & Co on the recommendation of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Infantino claimed that the World Cup would have an economic impact of $40 billion without any evidence backing up that somewhat remarkable figure.
A White House fact sheet detailed that “2026 World Cup host cities can expect to see up to 450,000 visitors and a potential net economic impact of up to $480 million. Tourism, hospitality, and retail industries will benefit from increased international and domestic visitors.”
Infantino also said that “millions” of people will enter the US for the tournament. The majority of matches will be hosted by one of 11 American host cities. The Metlife Stadium in New Jersey will stage the World Cup final.
There are growing concerns that the hardline immigration policies of the Trump administration could lead to supporters with World Cup tickets being refused visas. The executive order did not mention or address immigration policies for the World Cup.
Instead, in typically bombastic style, the executive order highlighted that the 2026 World Cup “taking place during the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of our country, presents an opportunity to showcase the Nation’s pride and hospitality while promoting economic growth and tourism through sport.”
The task force will also serve to help prepare this summer’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup.
Last week, FIFA announced a $1 billion prize pot for the tournament that has generally struggled to capture interest or imagination outside of FIFA’s ivory tower.
Streaming platform DAZN stepped in to acquire the broadcast rights for two editions of the finals at a price tag of $1 billion. At the same time, SURJ, a branch of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has invested $1 billion in DAZN, which has bled billions in recent years. DAZN would not have acquired the rights at that number otherwise. There had been little or no interest from FIFA’s major broadcast partners in Europe.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1741599977labto1741599977ofdlr1741599977owedi1741599977sni@i1741599977tnuk.1741599977ardni1741599977mas1741599977, additional reporting by moc.l1741599977labto1741599977ofdlr1741599977owedi1741599977sni@n1741599977osloh1741599977cin.l1741599977uap1741599977